Digital Realty

{{Infobox company

| name = Digital Realty Trust, Inc.

| logo = Digital Realty TM Brandmark RGB Black.svg

| type = Public company

| traded_as = {{ubl|{{NYSE|DLR}}|S&P 500 component}}

| founded = {{Start date and age|2004}}

| hq_location = Austin, Texas, U.S.

| industry = Real estate investment trust

| products = Data centers

| key_people = {{nowrap| Mary Hogan Preusse (Chairman)
Andrew P. Power (CEO & President)}}

| revenue = {{increase}} {{US$|4.69 billion|link=yes}} (2022)

| net_income = {{increase}} US$2.47 billion (2022)

| assets = {{increase}} US$153.32 billion (2022)

| equity = {{increase}} US$9.879 billion (2019)

| num_employees = 3,450 (2023)

| website = {{url|digitalrealty.com}}

| footnotes = {{Cite web |title=UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549 |url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1494877/000155837022002195/dlr-20211231x10k.htm |access-date=2023-08-10 |website=sec.gov}}

}}

File:DigitalRealtyDatacenterMarkham2.jpg]]

Digital Realty is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates and invests in carrier-neutral data centers across the world. The company offers data center, colocation, and interconnection services.

As of June 2023, Digital Realty has more than 300 facilities in more than 25 countries.{{cite web |title=Digital Reality Trust |url=https://www.digitalrealty.com/data-centers |access-date=26 June 2023}}

The company has made promises and efforts to reduce its carbon emissions. In 2020, Digital Realty joined the Science-Based Target Initiative, promising to reduce its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 68% and Scope 3 emissions by 24% between 2018 and 2030.{{Cite web |title=Digital Realty makes gains on data centre sustainability in Singapore with new cooling tower initiative |url=https://www.intelligentdatacentres.com/2023/08/07/digital-realty-makes-gains-on-data-centre-sustainability-in-singapore-with-new-cooling-tower-initiative/ |access-date=2023-08-10 |website=Intelligent Data Centres |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |last=Panettieri |first=Joe |date=2023-07-19 |title=Digital Realty Data Centers Leverage IBM ESG Software for Carbon Monitoring, Reduction Strategy |url=https://sustainabletechpartner.com/topics/green-it/digital-realty-data-centers-leverage-ibm-esg-software-for-carbon-monitoring-reduction-strategy/ |access-date=2023-08-10 |website=Sustainable Tech Partner |language=en-US}} The company is also a signatory of the Climate Neutral Data Center Pact, a self-regulatory initiative – drawn up with the European Data Center Association (EUDCA) and Cloud Infrastructure Services Provider in Europe (CISPE) – designed to make the industry climate-neutral by 2030.{{Cite web |title=Signatories – Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact |url=https://www.climateneutraldatacentre.net/signatories/ |access-date=2023-08-10 |language=en-US}} In July 2023, Digital Realty received a Certificate of Conformity, certifying its adherence to the Self-Regulatory Initiatives set out by the Pact in Europe.{{Cite web |title=Digital Realty attains climate-neutral conformity certificate |url=https://datacentrenews.uk/story/digital-realty-attains-climate-neutral-conformity-certificate |access-date=2023-08-10 |website=DataCentreNews UK |language=en}}

Digital Realty is working to switch entirely to renewable power.{{Cite web |title=How Digital Realty is Leveraging PPAs to Lead on Renewables |url=https://perspectives.se.com/renewable-energy/how-digital-realty-is-leading-on-renewables |access-date=2023-08-10}}{{Cite web |title=Digital Realty invests in photovoltaics through power purchase agreement with ENGIE |url=https://www.intelligentdatacentres.com/2023/02/07/digital-realty-invests-in-photovoltaics-through-power-purchase-agreement-with-engie/ |access-date=2023-08-10 |website=Intelligent Data Centres |language=en-GB}} Many of its U.S. and European data centers are powered by renewable energy.{{Cite web |date=2022-07-04 |title=Digital Realty reaches 1GW of certified sustainable capacity |url=https://datacentremagazine.com/articles/digital-realty-reaches-1gw-of-certified-sustainable-capacity |access-date=2023-08-10 |website=datacentremagazine.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Environmental, Social and Governance Report 2022 |url=https://s29.q4cdn.com/106493612/files/doc_financials/2022/ar/ESG2022.pdf |access-date=2023-08-10}} The company has 1 GW of wind and solar projects under contract in Texas, Illinois, North Carolina, Oregon, Arizona and Virginia{{Cite web |title=Digital Realty wins U.S. efficiency rating and commits to solar |url=https://datacenternews.asia/story/digital-realty-wins-u-s-efficiency-rating-and-commits-to-solar |access-date=2023-08-10 |website=DataCenterNews Asia Pacific |language=en}} and has installed 1.8 MW of solar panels in Kenya, Greece, Switzerland, and South Korea.{{Cite web |last=Swinhoe |first=Dan |date=2023-05-26 |title=Everything data center operators need to know about Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) |url=https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/analysis/everything-data-center-operators-need-to-know-about-power-purchase-agreements-ppas/ |access-date=2023-08-10}} The company says it avoided emitting 1.8 million metric tons of CO2-equivalent emissions (MtCO2e) in 2022.

History

The company was formed in 2004 by GI Partners, which contributed 21 data centers that it acquired through bankruptcy auctions and from distressed companies at a 20–40% discount to replacement cost.{{cite web | url=https://www.gipartners.com/real-estate/investment/digital-realty | title=Digital Realty | publisher=GI Partners}}

On November 4, 2004, the company became a public company via an initial public offering.{{cite press release | url=https://www.gipartners.com/news/digital-realty-trust-inc-completes-initial-public-offering | title=Digital Realty Trust, Inc. Completes Initial Public Offering | publisher=GI Partners | date=November 4, 2004}} At that time, the company owned 23 properties comprising 5.6 million square feet.

In August 2006, the company acquired a property in Phoenix, Arizona, for $175 million.{{cite news | url=https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2006/07/27/digital-realty-buys-phoenix-internet-gateway | title=Digital Realty Buys Phoenix Internet Gateway | first=Rich | last=Miller | work=Data Center Knowledge | date=July 27, 2006}}

By March 2007, GI Partners had sold all of its shares in the company.

In January 2010, the company acquired three data centers in Massachusetts and Connecticut for $375 million.{{cite news | url=https://www.globest.com/sites/globest/2010/01/05/375m-nets-data-center-portfolio/ | title=$375M Nets Data Center Portfolio | first=Ryan | last=Clark | work=ALM | date=January 5, 2010}}

In January 2012, the company acquired a 334,000-square-foot data center near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport for $63 million in a leaseback transaction.{{cite news | url=https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2012/01/04/digital-realty-buys-data-center-near.html | title=Digital Realty buys data center near Hartsfield-Jackson | work=American City Business Journals | date=January 4, 2012}} The company also acquired a data center in San Francisco for $85 million.{{cite news | url=https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2012/01/04/digital-realty-trust-buys-sf-data.html | title=Digital Realty Trust buys S.F. data center for $85M | first=John | last=Sailors | work=American City Business Journals | date=January 4, 2012}}

In April 2013, the company acquired the data center of Delta Air Lines in Eagan, Minnesota, for $37 million in a leaseback transaction.{{cite press release | url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/digital-realty-completes-second-saleleaseback-transaction-with-delta-air-lines-for-its-minneapolis-data-center-200929971.html | title=Digital Realty Completes Second Sale/Leaseback Transaction With Delta Air Lines For Its Minneapolis Data Center | publisher=PR Newswire | date=April 1, 2013}}

In July 2013, the company doubled capacity at its data center in Chandler, Arizona.{{cite news | url=https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2013/07/29/digital-realty-trust-doubles-capacity.html | title=Digital Realty Trust doubles capacity at Chandler data center | first=Hayley | last=Ringle | work=American City Business Journals | date=July 29, 2013}}

In May 2015, the company sold a building in Philadelphia for $161 million that it acquired in 2005 for $59 million.{{cite news | url=https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/blog/real-estate/2015/05/center-city-building-sells-for-161.html | title=Center City building sells for $161M | first=Natalie | last=Kostelni | work=American City Business Journals | date=May 6, 2015}}

In October 2015, the company acquired Telx for $1.886 billion.{{cite press release | url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/digital-realty-completes-the-acquisition-of-telx-300157808.html | title=Digital Realty Completes the Acquisition of Telx | publisher=PR Newswire | date=October 12, 2015}}

In November 2015, the company acquired 125.9 acres of undeveloped land in Loudoun County, Virginia, for $43 million and announced plans to build a 2 million-square-foot data center on the property.{{cite news | url=https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/breaking_ground/2015/11/digital-realty-plans-second-massive-loudoun-data.html | title=Digital Realty plans second massive Loudoun data center | first=Jeff | last=Clabaugh | work=American City Business Journals | date=November 16, 2015}}

In July 2016, the company acquired 8 data centers in Europe from Equinix for $874 million.{{cite press release | url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/digital-realty-completes-acquisition-of-eight-premium-european-data-centers-300294176.html | title=Digital Realty Completes Acquisition of Eight Premium European Data centers | publisher=PR Newswire | date=July 5, 2016}}

In March 2017, the company announced a $22 million expansion of its data center in Atlanta.{{cite news | url=https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2017/03/15/data-center-operator-digital-realty-plans-22.html | title=Data center operator Digital Realty plans $22 million Atlanta expansion | first=Urvaksh | last=Karkaria | work=American City Business Journals | date=March 15, 2017}}

In September 2017, the company completed the acquisition of DuPont Fabros Technology.{{cite press release | url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/digital-realty-completes-merger-with-dupont-fabros-300520007.html | title=Digital Realty Completes Merger With DuPont Fabros | publisher=PR Newswire | date=September 14, 2017}}{{cite news | url=https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2017/09/15/digital-realty-acquires-dupont-fabros-in-7-8b-deal.html | title=Digital Realty acquires DuPont Fabros in $7.8B deal | work=American City Business Journals | date=September 15, 2017}}

In 2018, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the company in Digital Realty Trust, Inc. v. Somers, a case in which Digital Realty fired an employee who had complained internally about the elimination of supervisory controls and the hiding of cost overruns. After he was fired, the employee sued the company, saying he was protected by whistleblower provisions in Dodd-Frank.{{cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-whistleblower/u-s-high-court-to-review-scope-of-dodd-frank-whistleblower-protections-idUSKBN19H1KT | title=U.S. high court to review scope of Dodd-Frank whistleblower protections | first=Sarah N. | last=Lynch | work=Reuters | date=June 26, 2017}} The Supreme Court, citing Dodd-Frank, ruled that these protections only applied to whistleblowers who had first notified the SEC.

In December 2018, the company acquired Ascenty for $1.8 billion. At the time, Ascenty operated eight data centers in Brazil.{{Cite news|url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/digital-realty-completes-acquisition-of-ascenty-300769959.html|title=Digital Realty Completes Acquisition Of Ascenty|date=December 20, 2018}}

In October 2019, Digital Realty announced the acquisition of European data center provider Interxion for $8.4 billion to “create a leading global provider of data centre, colocation and interconnection solutions”.{{Cite web|url=https://www.networkworld.com/article/3451437/digital-realty-acquisition-of-interxion-reshapes-data-center-landscape.html|title=Digital Realty acquisition of Interxion to reshape data-center landscape|last=Patrizio|first=Andy|date=2019-11-05|website=Network World|language=en|access-date=2019-11-16}}{{Cite web|url=https://data-economy.com/digital-realty-interxion-to-merge-in-biggest-data-centre-transaction-ever-at-8-4bn/|title=Digital Realty, Interxion to combine in BIGGEST data centre transaction EVER at $8.4bn|date=2019-10-29|website=Data Economy|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-11-16}}

In January 2021, Digital Realty said it would move its headquarters to Austin, Texas.{{cite web|url=https://www.sfgate.com/local/editorspicks/article/In-mass-tech-exodus-yet-another-firm-is-leaving-15884816.php|title=In mass tech exodus, yet another firm is leaving the Bay Area for Texas|author=Joshua Bote|publisher=Hearst Communications|date=January 20, 2021|accessdate=January 21, 2021}}

In January 2022, the company announced a 55% stake acquisition in Teraco Data Centres{{Cite news|url=https://tech.africa/digital-realty-teraco/|title= Digital Realty acquires 55% stake in Teraco Data Centres

|date=2022-01-04|work=TECH dot AFRICA|accessdate=2022-01-04}}

On 10 September 2024, about 7:45 am, a Digital Realty data centre in Loyang, Singapore, caught fire. According to the Singapore Civil Defence Force, the fire "involved lithium-ion batteries housed in battery rooms on the third floor of a four-storey building". Digital Realty said its employees were evacuated from the data centre without injuries. The fire affected Lazada and Bytedance's systems, as well as Alibaba Cloud's Availability zone C in Singapore,{{Cite web |date=10 September 2024 |title=Fire at Loyang data centre, SCDF operations still ongoing after a day |url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/fire-loyang-digital-realty-data-centre-scdf-operation-4599316 |access-date=2024-09-28 |website=Channel News Asia |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Moises |first=Hazel |date=2024-09-10 |title=Data Center Fire Strikes Alibaba Cloud in Singapore |url=https://w.media/data-center-fire-strikes-alibaba-cloud-in-singapore/ |access-date=2024-09-28 |work=W.Media |language=en-US}} and possibly DigitalOcean, Coolify, and Cloudflare.{{Cite web |last=Sharwood |first=Simon |date=10 September 2024 |title=Alibaba Cloud struggles after blaze at Digital Realty Singapore datacenter |url=https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/10/digtal_realty_singapore_datacenter_fire/ |access-date=5 October 2024 |website=The Register}}